Garmin Edge 520 update v3.00
 

I connected my Edge 520 to Garmin Connect over the weekend and failed to notice that it downloaded the v3.00 software update. This morning I had to wait for it to load the update before I rode. In typical Garmin Sports style, the update isn't perfect. Here is what I did to get it to work. It boots like a new device but still has all of your information on it. Accept all of the information about yourself such as age, weight, etc. Select "no" for connecting with your sensors or with bluetooth - those devices are still in memory. The device just hangs when "yes" is selected. I don't know if the 510 or 500 are included in the update. Here are the features of the software upgrade:

Changes made from version 2.30 to 3.00:

• Added support for Varia Smart Bike Lights. Now you can form a network of lights including head lights, tail lights, and a rearview radar tail light.
• Added support for sensor software updates
• Added the ability to edit crank length for PowerTap P1 pedals
• Added dynamic zooming while displaying the elevation graph during an activity
• Added a Percent Effort option for adjusting the virtual partner speed when following a course
• Added a preview of an incoming text to smart notifications
• Updated the FTP test to include setting a goal and accepting or declining the test results
• Fixed an issue preventing accurate data from being displayed with an HRM-Run
• Fixed an issue preventing the elevation graph from being drawn correctly
• Fixed an issue where segments would randomly not start
• Fixed an issue where courses would sometimes not start at a point along the course but away from the start location
• Improved device performance with many segments loaded
• Improved device performance while navigating through the list of courses
• Improved stability of device-to-device transfers
• Various fixes for general improvements to stability and performance

How well does the 520 work in general? I haven't seen a lot of real world reports. Are there any show-stopping bugs of the sort Garmin is notorious for?

So far the only bug I've had is that my iPad will connect to the Garmin via Bluetooth, but the Garmin still says that I'm disconnected until I tinker with it for a while. But it could be just how I try to pair it, as now the pairing seems to go faster as I become more familiar with how the device works. Other than that it's been quite bug free. I've also been recording every ride with my Android too 'just in case', but so far that backup data has not been needed. Recorded mileage, elevation, etc. are all very consistent between the two.

Keith

My experience is similar to trainsktg. Much less buggy than my 510. The automatic upload to Garmin Connect has never worked. The only issue that I have encountered in the three weeks that I have owned it is the installer for v3.00.

My Edge 510 updated to version 4.30 last night. I went through the same tedious setup - only my bluetooth connection no longer works.

I had my first during-ride crash of Garmin 520 after this update.

Otherwise my Garmin 520 has worked exactly as advertised. And uploads immediately when ride is done through bluetooth.

I started using the 520 on August 8. I did 30 rides so far and on 3 occasion the unit went crazy. Yesterday was a good example, on a 50km ride, it reset itself 3 times and froze 5 times. The only common data with these 3 rides was the cold temperature (<10 Celsius). I installed the 3.00 update yesterday evening after my ride. I hope it will fix the issue because when it starts, the unit is useless.

I notice also that live Segment isn't very accurate. I went full throttle on a local segment and my time was 1:23 placing me in 7th position in my mind. To my surprise, when I upload my ride, my time was 1:19 and I jumped in 2nd place. So I learned not to give up too early when the 520 tells me I'm behind my target time in a segment.

So far you can't customize the screen layout when a segment prompts. Therefore you lose all the basic information (Watts, HR, Cadence) much needed to monitor your performance and do good in the segment. The screen shows the name and time of your target. A useless map of the segment, the distance remaining in the segment and your current time compared with target (seconds behind/ahead of target).

On the Bluetooth side, its paired with a Samsung Galaxy S3 and worked flawlessly from day 1. I can upload my ride in less than 10 seconds every time without touching my phone. I just need to log on my account from PC or Phone to rename the ride if I want.

Pairing with ANT+ devices is working very well also. I run a Stages Power Meter and it never failed to connect. Same with my HRM, everything is perfect. I don't have a Speed/Cadence sensor because cadence data is provided by the power meter. No issue there.

After doing a bit of research I decided upgrade from my 510 to the 520. I knew it was going to be a mixed bag - losing the touch screen, which I like on the 510, but picking up the Strava Segment integration and much sharper display. Well, it's going back tomorrow after one ride. I never got to the Strava features, the display was as reported, and everything else was a disaster:

- The interface is totally nonintuitive and the presence of six buttons and trying to decide which one to press to get to where you're trying to go or to select something makes it downright painful. It can take several keypresses involving several buttons to do what you can accomplish with two touchscreen presses on the 510.

- It seems to DRASTICALLY under-calculate total elevation gain. Today on a course I ride regularly with others, it reported 20% less ascent than my 510, with the 510 being consistent with what other guys I ride with report for the same course, using a variety of devices. It was easy to see why: on relatively short, modest inclines it registered little or no elevation gain, and even when it registered anything there was a delay. I've seen this reported by others; the consensus seems to be it lacks sensitivity and thus misses elevation that isn't either prolonged or dramatic - has to be one or the other.

- You can display average speed, but not average MOVING speed. The manual makes clear that it counts auto-pause time as elapsed time. It still calculates average moving speed, and you'll see it when you upload your rides to the Garmin website or Strava, but that's not what you see on the display while you're riding.

I absolutely HATE the thing, and that's after allowing for the bugginess of the 510. Yeah, the 510 can be buggy - mostly in getting rides to upload - but it's intuitive and accurate and won't drive you to suicide trying to set it up and customize it.

I've already re-boxed the 520 and have my Amazon return label for a refund.

I'm not sure if the cumbersome pairing is an iPad thing or a Garmin thing, but it seems to require a certain procedure before the two will pair. With Garmin BT ON, if my iPad BT is already on, I need to turn the iPad's off, turn it back on, connect with the Garmin (although Garmin will still indicate that it's disconnected) then open the Garmin Connect app before the Garmin actually pairs. Whew... But other than that it seems like the thing is doing what it's supposed to.
Ride date collected is accurate compared to that gathered by my smart phone, and for me the Live Segments makes any roundabout pairing worth putting up with.

Keith

I need to call myself on this comment. I decided to delete the iPhone and add it back to try to get the auto-upload to work. When I did that I noticed that it said, "open Garmin Connect on your smartphone to complete this operation". When I did that it immediately started synchronizing and has automatically synced the rides that I have done since. This was unlikely ever a Garmin issue.